Obama praises Italy's 'great' leader as a man of integrity — but it's not Berlusconi

Many Italians will be pleased that when President Obama arrived in Italy yesterday for his first G8 summit he launched into lavish praise of the nation’s “great leader”. This eminent figure had “the admiration of the Italian people”, Mr Obama said, not only for his public service, but his “integrity and graciousness”. “I just want to confirm that everything I have heard about him is true — he’s an extraordinary gentleman and a great leader of this country,” Mr Obama added. He was talking not about Silvio Berlusconi, but about President Napolitano, the head of state. The White House later attempted to brush off suggestions that the compliments — not extended to Mr Berlusconi — were intended as veiled criticism of the scandal-tainted Prime Minister. Asked if Mr Obama’s praise of Mr Napolitano’s qualities implied that Mr Berlusconi lacked them, a White House spokesman said: “I wouldn’t read too much into it. Sometimes we just mean what we say.” Italians may draw a different conclusion. More photographs taken of Mr Berlusconi’s Sardinian villa with a long lens are being offered for sale, including some in which two women kiss each other in front of him. Perhaps the “lesbian kiss” was “a joke” staged by the women to embarrass the Prime Minister, the right-wing paper Libero suggested in an interview with the photographer. Continue ... http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article6669337.ece